Jesus on Campus: Reaching the Lost and Encouraging the Found

This is Alishia, a friendly student from China. Alishia told me that she had no religious upbringing, but she thought it was worth pondering. If you look you can see she took a Gospel booklet (it's in her hand.) Please pray for this sweet young woman.

This is Kaitlin (on the left). She recently started evangelizing with us. She got saved just last year, and her transformation is obvious and amazing! Just one year ago Kaitlin was an unbeliever and a Lesbian. Once she become a believer in Jesus, she said she wanted to be a "Progressive Christian." She wanted to believe that homosexuality is fine in God's sight. But Kaitlin says the Scriptures didn't allow her to fall for that. Since then God has CHANGED her orientation, and she got giddy telling me about her boyfriend. She told me she never thought she'd be excited about a man, but now she is! In this photo Kaitlin is sharing her testimony with this young woman who identified as a Lesbian. We didn't get her name. The conversation didn't go well. She got angry with Kaitlin and told her that she's repressing her true sexuality and is a phony. And then she left. Kaitlin said that people from the LGBTQ+ Community always tell her that. They never believe that God can change someone. She wasn't angry. She was compassionate and sad for them. Please pray for this angry young woman, that God would grab a hold of her heart. And let's rejoice for the amazing work he's been doing in Kaitlin's heart. Hallelujah!!!

This is Aaron (right) a man who used to identify as a woman, but not any more. Get this, Aaron came to faith in Jesus and God took away Aaron's gender confusion! That's so awesome!!! He and Shawn (left) encouraged one another in their mutual faith in Christ.

This is Theo (left) and he told Rick (right) that he grew up in a Catholic home, but isn't following anything anymore. After talking for a while, Theo remembered seeing a movie about Jesus as a kid and that impacted him. Rick encouraged him to seek Jesus now. Praise God!

This is Juliana, a Boston University student who approached me and Shawn with accusing questions. How do you respond to someone who is hostile? With a soft tone and compassion. We gave Juliana answers, and here's the thing, she listened to us just like we listened to her. And her tone and demeanor softened. Shawn and I shared the Gospel with her and she heard us. And I believe she felt our genuine love for her. Juliana promised to watch "The Atheist Delusion," which is a fantastic video, and she gladly received a Gospel of John book. Hallelujah! Please pray that this kind young woman responds with repentance and faith.

This is Raphael, a young-man who claimed to be a Christian, but admitted to Chris that he doesn't talk to anybody about his faith. Chris encouraged him to not be ashamed of Jesus, and they had a productive encouraging chat. Let's pray that Raphael turns into an on-fire Evangelist for Jesus!

This is Robbie, a very thoughtful and kind young man. When I asked him if he ever thinks about what happens after we die, he said, "all the time." I asked him if he knew what God did to pay for salvation. Robbie told me he didn't know. He told me he had no religious upbringing. He said, "I hope I'm good enough to get to Heaven." What a perfect transition to the Gospel! He and I went through "The Good Person Test" to illustrate to Robbie that none of us are good enough to get to Heaven. I shared with him the cross, and grace, and salvation by faith. Robbie said, "I've never heard this." And he gladly took a "Gospel of John." Please pray for Robbie and the many other Gospel seeds planted on campus.

This is Nicole, who's very kind and sweet. she told Chris she's Catholic. When Chris asked her if she thinks she's going to go to Heaven, she said, "I'm an avid Church-goer and I think I'm doing great getting to Heaven." Chris took her through some of the Ten Commandments so she'd understand that none of us are "doing great getting to Heaven." Chris shared salvation through faith and repentance, and Nicole took a Gospel of John. Please pray for this sweet young lady. Thank you!

This is Trinity and she boldly came right up to me and said, "I want to take your test." I took her through some of the Commandments to illustrate that we all need the Savior. Trinity objected. She said that God is all about love and compassion. (I agreed.) But then she said that means that he loves us just the way we are, however we are. She argued we should be only positive. Here's where it gets very sad. I said, "Trinity, I agree with you that God is loving and compassionate, but I think we might understand love and compassion differently." I continued, "Imagine there was a blind man walking toward a cliff, and he's about to die. He doesn't want to die. He just doesn't see the danger." "Imagine there's a person there to encourage the blind man. He says, 'You're amazing! Keep being you. Don't change a thing.'" A second person says "I'm so sorry to tell you this but you're heading towards a cliff. You're gonna die. You've got to turn around." So then I asked Trinity, "Which person truly loved and showed compassion to the blind man?" And then something unexpected happened. Trinity said, "I think the first person. He was way more positive." I was surprised. I asked, "Even though he didn't warn the blind man he was about to be killed?" Trinity said, "Maybe he wanted to be killed, who knows?" And that's why I'm sad. Because Trinity was sweet but 100% illogical and confident about nonsense. Not everyone in Gen Z has abandoned logic, but tragically many have. Please pray for this generation, that they will come to their senses. They truly are sheep without a shepherd. The great news is that Jesus is a Shepherd who loves rescuing lost sheep!

This is Luca, a friendly, but shy student who had an AMAZING conversation with Emily. They talked about Jesus and salvation for nearly 45 minutes! Luca explained that her mom had tried different churches, including Protestant, Catholic, and even Mormon. Emily asked Luca if she thought she was good enough to go to Heaven, and Luca said she wasn't sure. So Emily took her through summer of The Ten Commandments so that Luca could understand that she's not good enough. Luca said, "So what do I do now? Do I clean up my life?" Emily had the privilege to share the Great News with Luca. To explain Jesus' mission, and the cross, and salvation by grace. She exhorted this sweet girl to go to Jesus with repentance, asking him to forgive her. She took a New Testament from Emily and took Emily's phone number too. Let's all pray that this kind young woman turns to Jesus with true faith and repentance.

This is Atticus, a very open and inquisitive student. He asked Chris LOTS of great questions! Chris answered his Apologetics questions, but more importantly, he shared the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ! Atticus was happy to receive a copy of the Gospel of John and said he would read it. Please pray that he does, and that he comes to repentance and faith in Christ for salvation.

A Drag Show being advertised on campus. Don't you remember when this type of thing was shameful? Please pray for the young students who are inundated with lies about Gender, Sexuality, and Jesus. Thankfully Jesus wins in the end, and that's a certainty!!! YAY!

This is Tyler, and I think every campus needs one thousand Tylers! Tyler got saved just a few months ago, and here he was, a new believer, standing at a busy intersection on campus giving out Gospel Booklets that he purchased to his fellow students. Chris saw him doing that, so we went over to meet this young man, and I'm so glad we did. So encouraging! He goes out there almost every day, lovingly offering pamphlets to students. Many students take the tracts. Many make fun of him. But he's out there reaching out to the Lost. And he's only 18-years-old! We shared contact info with Tyler and we've been encouraging him and he's even joined us in our evangelism a few times. Praise God!!!

This is Westin, a friendly student with a Roman Catholic background. Westin had a lot of great questions that show that he's really thinking. He spoke with Chris for a long time and left with a Gospel of John and a lot to ponder. Please pray for this kind young man.

This is Jaden, a sweet Born-Again student I met at UNH. I asked her what it's like following Jesus on campus, and she told me that she gets pushback from people in her dorm and in classes. Her values are very different than what is pushed at the school. I encouraged her to stick very close to Jesus and be in fellowship with other Christians. Jaden admitted that she knows she needs to be in her Bible more regularly. We encouraged one another and she thanked me for being on campus talking to people about Jesus. It's terrific to build-up other followers of Jesus!

Remember Bob from last fall? We ran into him again yesterday on campus. Please pray for Bob. The bad news is that he's got a lot of issues to work through. The good news is that he's seeking God and reading his Bible. Please pray he'll follow hard after Jesus. Thank you!

This is Maud, a kind Exchange Student from France. Maud was brought up with no religious upbringing at all. But she's very open. Get this: Maud even attended a Church with a friend at Christmas! Chris explained the Gospel to her and she really listened. Chris asked her, "Have you ever heard this before?" She said, "No, I haven't." Chris pointed her to a Christian student group on campus and gave her a copy of The Gospel of John. Hallelujah! Let's be praying for this sweet young woman.

This is Nelle, a sweet young lady I've spoken with many many times. Nelle was brought up Jewish, considered herself Pagan, and identifies as LGBTQ+. She and I have had friendly conversations many times. And as you can see she loves my dog! Please pray that God will grab a hold of Nelle's heart and she'll have saving faith. I like Nelle so so so so much, and I'd LOVE to see her in God's Kingdom!

This is Nick (on the left) and he told Jim that he didn't believe in anything. Because of his questions, Jim pointed him to the book of Romans. Nick listened to Jim explain the Gospel and he took a Gospel booklet. Please pray for this young man and the others who God sends our way.

Remember Nelle, the LGBTQ+ Jewish student who also considers herself Pagan? Well, she stopped by again to talk with us and I'm thrilled! (She's the one wearing the cool lime green sneakers!) It's great to be able to talk with the same students multiple times over time. This time Joanna was with us. Joanna is a student who loves Jesus and isn't afraid to talk about him. It was great for Nelle to hear the same message again, but this time from someone her age and gender. I really hope Nelle turns to the Lord! I like her a lot. Of course she believes harmful things; she isn't in Christ. She needs salvation. Please continue to pray for this intelligent and sweet young woman.

This is Neal, a kind young man I approached at Michigan State University. He's a freshman there and when I asked him if he thinks about what comes after life, he said, "all the time." Neal grew up Roman Catholic and his answers to my questions showed he was hoping to be "good enough" to impress God and hope for the best. I took him through some commandments to illustrate that none of us are good enough. He was very polite and engaging and he took a Gospel of John book and said he'd read it. We also invited him to the Christian Student Organization on campus. Please pray for this kind young man!

Jamar and Aaron engage with students at Michigan State University.

This is Alyssa, and she regularly attends a Bible Study with one of the Christian groups on campus. So I figured she'd know the answer, easy-peasy to my question. My question was this: "Alyssa, I have a knife in my back and I only have 2 minutes to live. With one of my last breaths, I ask you, 'what must I do to be saved?' Alyssa, what do you tell me?" Alyssa paused and said, "That's a good question. I don't know." Not the right answer. This is why I always "check" to see if students who call themselves Christian can explain the Gospel. My point wasn't to make her feel bad or shame her. I merely wanted to make sure she's truly saved, and if so, knows how to communicate the Gospel effectively. She and I had a good chat where I pointed out Mark 1:15, where Jesus said, "Repent and Believe the Gospel." Simple. Grace. Undeserved. This is why Jesus is the only way, because only he was the perfect sacrifice for sin. Alyssa readily agreed. She told me that She grew up with the Gospel, but now is trying to figure things out as an adult. I encouraged her to be in God's Word every day. She said, "Thank you so much for being out here and doing this." Such a sweet young lady! Please pray she grows closer to Jesus!

Do students really stop to talk to us? Yes. Are they friendly? Yes. Like this sweet young woman. She took a Gospel Booklet - praise the Lord!

This is Nicole. I asked her, you ever think about what happens when we die? She said, "That's an important question." Nicole said something a lot of people say. She says, "I don't think we can know for sure." So I asked her, "Do you suppose it's possible to know about eternity if God himself reveals the truth to us? " Nicole admitted she hadn't considered that. I explained that one of the reasons God took on flesh was to reveal the truth about God to us so we could be certain. She was very kind. She thanked me and left with a Gospel booklet and a lot to consider. Please pray for this kind young lady.

This is Elizabeth, and she's very angry with God. She approached us and said she sees us out here a lot and has questions. Elizabeth threw the contentious subjects at us: homosexuality, abortion, evolution, priest child abuse scandal, and she even asked how we know Jesus wasn't gay? For each question, Chris and I maintained a soft and friendly tone, and gave her answers to consider. But every time we did, she threw another at us. Finally I said, "Elizabeth, if we could answer all your questions, and you knew that Jesus is Lord, and your Creator, would you yield to him?" Without hesitation she said, "no." She called God hateful. Again, with a calm friendly voice I explained that if she knew Jesus was the Almighty, but wouldn't follow him, then she has a heart problem and not a "I don't have enough answers" problem. I encouraged her to seek God and cry out to him. Then she did something I've never seen. She started (loudly) calling out to God (but in a mocking way.) "Hey God, where are you?" she yelled. Then she said to me and Chris, "hmm, couldn't find him." She left and as she left she said, "Oh, and I'm so so so gay so I'm gonna burn." Please pray for Elizabeth. She's bright and precious. But also so angry, hardened, and prideful. But God excels at winning over angry, hardened, and prideful people. He won me over 30 years ago! He can save Elizabeth too. Please pray for that!

Remember Jim the Roman Catholic? He and I spoke tons of times last fall. We ran into him on campus a number of times this Spring. Yay. On this day, as usual, Jim was much more interested in talking about social issues we agree on than on Jesus, salvation, and the Biblical Gospel. I asked him if he was reading his Bible (something I have encouraged him to do a lot in the past.) Jim looked a bit embarrassed, and said, "I guess I need to do that." I encouraged him to search the Scriptures. I told him that even though he's right on abortion and gender, none of it matters if he's wrong on the Gospel. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will draw Jim and bring him to saving faith!

This is Jack, and he's showing me an Eastern Orthodox prayer book he recently began reading. You see, Jack is a Roman Catholic, but he's thinking about Eastern Orthodoxy because he's unhappy with the Pope. I warned Jack about the danger of elevating tradition over The Word of God. I explained that Eastern Orthodoxy isn't very different than Roman Catholicism, and he should reject both for the simple Biblical faith. Jack had to go take a final exam, but he thanked me and took a Gospel of John. Now that book can really help him!

Terry and Tyler shared Christ with a Professor. It's great when Professors stop to talk to us. Praise the Lord!